Pneumatic cushion for vehicles.



J.-'O.' DAVIS. w'PNEUMATIG CUSHION FOR VEHICLES. APPLICATION-FILED MAY 23, 1911. 1,043, 77, Patented Nov. 5 1912 2 snEETs-sHBET 1.

WITNESSES INVENTOR r Q6720 Gian? %m CFLQ'Q" By ATTORNEYS J. O. DAVIS. PNEUMATIC CUSHION FOR VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED an 23, 1911.

1,043,677, Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHBBT WI/ll WITNESSES 9 mvmron fluwfi? man/0mm mom/Er:

UNITED STATES PArEN OFFICE.

JOHN OWEN DAVIS, OF PAWNEE, OKLAHOMA.

PNEUMATIC CUSHION FOR VEHICLES.

LQHEAWT.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, J 011x 0. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pawnee, in the county of Pawnee and State of Oklahoma, have invented a new and Improved Pneumatic Cushion for Vehicles, of which the following is a full, clear, and ex act description.

My invention relates to means for cushioning vehicles, and its object is to eliminate as far as possible, jolting and jarring caused by the wheels striking an obstruction as the vehicle passes over the surface of the ground. without being obligedto employ the expensive pneumatic tires which are now generally used on automobiles and other vehicles of the motor driven. type.

To this end I utilize a suitable cushion which is preferably tubular in form, to take up the vibration experienced when the vehicle is in motion; and l locate this cushion between the axle and the springs which. sup

port the chassis or body of the car. The springs employed are carriage springs made up of a number of strips or leaves which are bent downw .rd; and each spring carries midw y of its length, at its lowest point, a suitable shoe which rests upon a part of the .tubular cushion above mentioned.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings fori'ning a part of this specification, in which the same characters of refere-ncc indicate. the same parts in all the views.

l igure 1 is a top plan of my improved pneumatic cushion and the means for mounting the same; Fig. 2 is a. longitudinal vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective v iew of the'shoe carried by thesprings to support the weight of the body of the car on the cushions; Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section on the line t ll of Fi l, the axle shown being the rear axle;

ing the front axle.

()n tllflCiItLWlllgS, the numeral 1 indicates and Fig. 5 1s a view similar to Fig. 4.,showthe rear 'WllBGlS, on which are mounted tires 2. These tires are preferably of solid rub her, but I may make them of metal if de-1 sired. These wheels are mounted at the ends of a hollow casing 3, which contains the drivoshafts for the rear wheels', and carries midway of itslength a gear casing 4t, containing the driving gears which receive their motion from a shaft-5 driven by the engine. The casing 3 is connected to the Specification of Letters Patent.

body of the vehicle, not shown, by means or diagonal bars 6, the inner ends of these bars being pivotally fixed to the body of the car, and the outer ends carrying suit-able bearings 7, in which the outer ends of the casing 3 are rigidly mounted. 1

Carried by the axle or casing 3, near the outer ends fthereofi are plates 8, having transverse bar 11, which restslupon and is.

supported by the bars (has shown on Figs. 1 and 2. These plates 11 have upward-projecting cars 12 arranged along their sides, these projections being similar to the pro jections 10. The axle 3 also carries rear- Patented Nov. 5. 1 912; Application filed Ma ra, 1911. Serial no. 628,936

ward-projecting plates'S, one rigidly connected to the casing 3 on each side of the gear casing 4, as shown on Figs. 1 and 4;;

and the outer ends of theseplates 8' have transverse lugs 10.

My improved pneumatic cushioning means comprises an outer tubular casing 13, closed at its ends and bent into the form of a U, as shown. This casing may be made of leather or stout rubber, and it has longitudinal slits 13 near its two ends to permit the insertion ofone or more sections of an inner tube 1.4:, this inner tube being made of rubber or some other elastic material, and being provided with alsuitable opening to permit the same to be inflated to distend the same and the casing 13 to enable the cushion to serve the desired purpose. The cushion 13 is 'supportedby the plates 8, 8.,and ll. being arranged to lie bet-ween the projections 1.0, 10' and 12. t The upper ends of the pro ject-ions 1-0 and 12 are perforated to receive short lengths of straps 15, similar straps 17 being used in connection with the projections 10. \Vhen the casing 13 is laid in be- I tween the projections 10, 10' and 12. the straps are fastened means of buckles to hold the cushion securely in place.

The numeral 16 indicates a suitabh torm of shoe shown in perspective in Fig. 5, one of which is located at each endof one of the t'ront and rear aides to rest upon thitact with the gear casing 4. The springs 22, on which rest the beams 23 of the framework of the body of the car, are joined to the shoes 16, these springs resting upon the top thereof between the flanges 19, and being bolted securely in place;

I The bars 21 are secured to the front and rear axles by means of U-shaped staples 24. These staples are incased in suitable tubular oasings'25, which pass beneath the axles,

which are threaded at their upper ends to receive binding nuts 26. The upper ends pass throu h .the bars 21, and the binding nuts 26, 6 which there are two on each leg of the staple, are arranged so as to clamp the bar between them. Between the lower surface of the bars 21, ateach end thereof, and the lower nuts 26, I place a plate 27 this plate having a pair of lugs or ears projecting downward adjacent its inner end,

these cars beingperforated to receive a pin, which afiords ivotal connection to a link or bar 28. This link or bar 28 is made in two sections which are connected together by means of a turn-nut 29, so that the length thereof can be adjusted to suit circumstances. The inner end of each bar 28 is pivotally connected to an upstanding lug 30, carried by the casing 3, and the staples 24 and the links 28 serve to secure the bars 21 and the shoes '16 to the axle casing 3,

body of the car from moving laterally or and through-the connection of the bars 21 and the springs 22 to the beams of the chassis 23, the axle is secured to the car.

On Fig. 5 the front wheels'are shown at 1 and the tires therefor at 2, 3 being the front axle, to which the wheels are connected in such a way that they can be moved around vertical pivots at the outer ends of the axle 3'. The front axle has preferably only time forward-extending plate 8, and this plate has a log 31 at its rear end, to which the inner ends of the adjustable links 28 are joined.

The bars 6 serve to anchor the axle casing 3 to the car, and, hence, the bars 21 and the shoes 16 through the springs 22 are connected to the framework of the chassis. The adjustable links 28 will prevent the along the length of the front and rear axles. At the same time, the staples 24 and the pivotal link connection between the two axles and the bars 21 will permit the shoes 16 to have a certain degree of vertical movement to compress the pneumatic cushion and deaden the jolting to which the occupants of the car would be subjected.

The vertical movement of the shoes 16 takes: place by reason of the fact that the pivot bolts connecting the links 28 to the lugs 30 and 31, and the plates 27, are in practice not perfectly tight; they are tight enough, it is true, to prevent the lateral swing of the chassis or body of the car, but not tight enough to prevent the rotation of the links 28 through a certain small angle around the pivotal connection of their inner ends to the lugs 30'and 31, when the shoes 16 move up and down in practice.

It will be observed that the lower side of each of the shoes 16 is convex. These sides rest directly upon the outer casing 13 of the cushion, and when the cushion is inflated to the required degree, the weight of the body of the car is supported upon these parts. In case one of the wheels should encounter an obstruction, throwing the wheel upward as the same passes over the obstruction, the j olting would be deadcned by the cushion 14, and not be transmitted to the body of the car through the axle and framework supported thereby. The convex lower side of the shoe 16 makes the action of the cushion very sensitive. A light jolting will cause the shoe to compress the cushion very little, and whenever a heavy jolting is given to the vehicle while running, the curved lower surface of the shoe 1.6 will engage a larger area of the cushion 13, and thus automatically increase the cushioning action.

By means of my improved cushioning device it is not necessary to employ pneumatic tires, and by locating the same in the .position shown and described, the cushion carries only the Weightof the body of the car and its occupants. The cushioning device does not have to bear the additional weight of the wheels and axles, as in the case of pneumatic cushions in the form of tires carried on the rims of the wheels themselves.

I wish to have it understood that I may employ a stout leather sleeve to fit around the outer casing 13 of the cushion at eacli of the points on which the shoes 16 rest. These sleeves will prevent any wear or chafing of the cushion 13 as the shoes 16 move up and down.

Having thus described. my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. Ina device of the kind described, the combination of an axle, plates carried by said axle adjacent its ends, plates supported by said axle and projecting laterally therefrom between said fifstqnamed plates, a U- shaped pneumatic cushion supported by sald plates, means attached to said plates for holding said cushion in place, and means for connecting the body of a vehicle to said axle in position to rest upon said cushion.

2. In a device of the kind described, the combination of an axle, plates supported adjacent the ends of said axle, plates carried by said axle and projecting therefrom between said first-named plates, extensions carried by said first-named plates, said extensions projecting in opposite directions to the said second-named plates, upstanding lugs arranged at the sides of the said firstnamed plates and their extensions, transverse lugs arranged adjacent the outer ends of said second named plates. a U--shaped pneumatic cushion supported by said plates and resting between said lugs, straps passing through openings in said lugs to secure said pneumatic cushion in place, and means for connecting the body of a vehicle to said axle in position to rest upon said cushion.

3. In a device of the kind described, the

combination of an axle, a pair of supportmg shoes arranged above the ends thereof, a

transverse supporting bar connected to said shoes at its ends, carriage springs connected axle.

l to said shoes at their mid points and to the framework of the body of a car at their ends, staples connected to the opposite ends of said bar and passing around the axle to con-- nect the bar and the axle together, and a pair of extensible links pivotally connected to said bar at one end and to the said axle at the other, said links being parallel to said bar, and said links and said staple permitting relative movement of said bar and said 4. In a device of the kind described, the I combination of an axle, a U-shaped tubular pneumatic cushion, said cushion being supported by said axle and having its base par allel with said axle, the arms of said U- shaped cushion extending longitudinally of the car to which said axle is connected, and a pair of shoes having convex under surfaces resting upon the longitudinal arms of said U-shapcd cushion, said shoes being connected to the framework of the body of the car or vehicle, whereby the weight of the body ol. the car will be supported by said cushion, and whereby the convex lower surl'acc ol tlm supporting shocs will cause the cu hioning (ill-(t of said cushion to be auto-- math-ally increased. when said cushion is (:(illllil'tnnttl during the movements of the \cliiclcj x 5. ln :1 device. ol the kind described, the combination of an axle, supporting means i arranged above the opposite ends of said axle, means arranged longitudinally .of said axle and joined to said supporting means at its ends to connect the same together, means for connecting said supporting means to the body or framework of a vehicle of which said axle forms a part, and-means ar 'anged longitudinally of said axle and pivotally connected thereto at one end and to said supporting means at the other end, for preventing the said supporting means from swinging laterally with respect to the vehicle, while at the same time permitting a certain amount of vertical movement of saidsupporting means.

6. In a device of the kind described, the combination of an axle, supporting means arranged above the opposite ends of said axle, means arranged longitudinally of said axle and joined to said supporting means at its ends to connect the same together, resilient means for connecting said supporting means to the body or framework of a vehicle of which said axle forms a part, and means arranged longitudinally of said axle and pivotally connected thereto at one end and to said supporting means at the other end, for preventing the said supporting means from swinging laterally with respect to the vehicle, while at the same time permitting a certain amount ol vertical mo'vcment of said supporting means.

7. In a device of the kiml'described, the com'binatiomof an axle, supporting means arranged above the ends thereof, means vmg said supporting means at each end of the axle together, resilient means for connecting said supporting means to the framework or body of a vehicle of which said axle forms a part, and means carried by said firstnamed connecting means and rmwablyeugaging said axle, said means arranged longitudinally of said axle and pivotally connected to said first-named connecting means at one end and to said axle at the other end, to permit a certain amount of vertical movement of said supporting means, and to pre vent said supporting means from moving laterally ol the vehi le.

in testimony whcrcol' l' have signed my name to this spccilicatiou in thc presence ol two subscribing witncsscs,

JOHN OWEN DAVIS. Vii nesscs .lonx W. Wins-ox, 

